Security was an essential component of Durham County’s plan to build a $120 million, 11-story, 300,000-square-foot justice center to house superior and district courts, the clerks of court offices, the sheriff’s office and a parking garage to serve the entire building. The county hired J&A Engineering to design building-wide personnel-duress, digital video-surveillance, electronic intrusion detection, intercommunication and access-control systems. The new parking deck required emergency intercom, video-surveillance and gate-control systems. In addition, J & A Engineering designed the justice center’s telecommunication infrastructure system, which included copper and fiber cabling systems and CATV distribution systems. What’s more, J&A ensured all new systems integrated with the existing Durham County jail. The cost of all engineered systems was approximately $4 million.